Senior helps Warriors post victory

PALMER — Last season, both regular season games between the Wasilla Warriors and Palmer Moose were decided at the buzzer. But this time, Wasilla senior Connor Devine ensured that trend would not continue.

Devine scored 14 of his game-high 22 points in the fourth quarter to lead the Warriors to a 55-41 Northern Lights Conference victory over the Palmer Moose at Palmer High School on Tuesday.

“We made a really big point of emphasis to make sure he gets the ball in the fourth quarter,” Wasilla senior Braydon Kuiper said of Devine. “He’s, in my opinion, the best player in the state, and he needs to get the ball.”

Devine, Wasilla’s 6-foot-10 all-state forward, posted 14 of the Warriors’ 20 fourth-quarter points. The South Dakota State recruit hit six of Wasilla’s nine field goals in the quarter and helped push a five-point third-quarter lead to a 14-point win.

“He finally got some consistency on the floor,” Wasilla head coach Ryan Engebretsen said of Devine, who was forced to sit for a chunk of the first half with two fouls. “He kind of got out of sync again.”

As Wasilla worked to build a lead in the fourth, Devine completed a key three-point play, drawing the foul while going hard to the basket and hitting the ensuing free throw.

“We did a better job as a group of making a concerted effort, making sure we were looking inside, playing inside, outside,” Engebretsen said.

Devine also stepped behind the arc and hit a three-pointer during the final quarter.

“He’s done a great job of making himself more of an all-around player,” Engebretsen said. “He can step out. He’s a perimeter threat.”

Palmer and Wasilla traded leads early, but used a small run at the tail end of the first to take a 15-10 lead into the second.

Freshman Dane Kuiper added 14 points in the victory. Braydon Kuiper chipped in nine and Eric Roberts added eight for the Warriors.

Palmer senior Jared Straight led the Moose with 10 points in the loss. Junior Connor Looney added nine and senior Jackson Buresh contributed seven.

Wasilla 55, Palmer 41

Tuesday, Palmer High

Wasilla 15-12-8-20—55

Palmer 10-11-9-11—41

Wasilla (55) — D. Ferro, 1 0-1 2, B. Kuiper 3 3-6 9, D. Kuiper 6 2-4 14, Devine 10 1-1 22, Roberts 3 2-2 8; Totals: 23 8-14 55.

Palmer (41) — Nisbett 3 1-1 7, Looney 3 1-2 9, Straight 4 0-0 10, Matik 0 1-2 1, Buresh 3 0-0 7, Selmer 2 1-2 5, Niekamp 1 0-0 2; Totals: 16 4-7 41.

Three-point field goals: Wasilla 1 (Devine 1), Palmer 5 (Looney, Straight 2); Total fouls: Wasilla 8, Palmer 15.